1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC tag or interposer capable of transferring and receiving data in no contact with an external reader/writer, a sheet with IC tags having an IC tags or interposers, a method for producing a sheet with IC tags, and a producing apparatus (or a production line) of a sheet with IC tags.
The present invention also relates to a method for fixing IC chips and an apparatus for fixing IC chips, which can fix an IC chip to an electrical conductor or conductors as well as electrically connect an electrode or electrodes of the IC chip with the electrical conductor(s).
2. Background Art
Traditionally, an IC tag for transferring and receiving data in no contact with an external reader/writer includes an IC chip and extension electrodes (in this case, also referred to as a dipole antenna) which comprises a pair of electrical conductors and functions as an antenna upon transferring and receiving data in no contact with an external reader/writer. Typically, such an IC tag is supported on a base sheet.
An interposer used for connection of an antenna circuit also includes a pair of extension electrodes and an IC chip connected with these extension electrodes, and is usually supported on a base sheet. In the interposer, the extension electrodes function as a connecting terminal for a separate antenna circuit which serves as an antenna upon transferring and receiving data in no contact with an external reader/writer, and connect the antenna circuit with the IC chip.
In this application, the term “IC tag” is used as a concept implying an interposer.
Such an IC tag implying an interposer is obtained by providing on a base sheet a pair of electrical conductors extending in the longitudinal direction, making a sheet with IC tags by arranging IC chips successively between the pair of electrical conductors, and cutting the sheet with IC tags for each IC chip.
However, if the pair of electric conductors are not arranged accurately on the base sheet, the IC chips can not be arranged with high precision.
Since the size of each IC chip is quite small, handling of the IC tip is difficult. Therefore, it is difficult to provide such IC chips, one at a time, accurately and rapidly. Moreover, it is also difficult to arrange the fed IC chips with high accuracy and rapidly.
While IC tags can be obtained by cutting the sheet with IC tags as described above, since the electric conductors are continuous prior to the cutting, electric characteristics of each IC tag can not be detected, in a state of a sheet, without cutting the sheet with IC tags. Accordingly, inspection of each IC tag can be performed only after cutting the sheet with IC tags for each IC chip so as to form the IC tag. However, the inspection in such a situation can not be performed rapidly. In addition, defective IC tags may be produced continuously.
Furthermore, each arranged IC chip must be fixed onto the electrical conductors, and the fixed IC chip then be connected electrically with the electrical conductors. In this case, it would be preferable in the production efficiency of the sheet with IC tags if a plurality of IC chips could be fixed onto the electrical conductors and connected electrically therewith at a time. Contrary, if variation in the resistance between each IC chip and the electrical conductors becomes large, the performance of the IC tag will also be varied and hence not preferable.
It would be also significantly preferable not only in the production efficiency but also in the quality of the sheet with IC tags if the test on each IC chip itself could be performed efficiently before arranging the IC chip as well as production of defective IC tags due to deficiency of the IC chip itself could be prevented previously.